The Power of the Night

October 24, 2012

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night, fretting that you cannot sleep? Does it distress you beyond belief that you are awake when it seems that the rest of the Earth is not? Have you ever considered what an opportunity it is to be aware in that moment of wakefulness? That it is a gift to be alive?

A friend once told me that before electricity, people would sleep at odd hours, wake up whenever they did and used their time to make love, think or even talk to one another? The clock did not dictate their days.

In our modern age of productivity, we are forced into a rhythm that our bodies often reject. If you “suffer” from insomnia, I ask you to consider the power of the night.

Nighttime has a special quality of solitude and introspection that we don’t often get during the day. No phones are ringing, no demands are tugging at you, no secretaries telling you to sign this paper or that. All you have is the sound of your own heartbeat, pumping in your chest as sure as night follows day. In those quiet times of wakefulness, you have received a gift that we often deem a curse. It is time for you to simply be.

Nighttime offers you the moon, bright and shiny, smiling down at you to remind you that the sun is shining somewhere on the planet where you might not be. It gives you the stars and the brilliance of the planets that encircle themselves with the force of an ever-expanding Universe.

The night offers you the sound of the trees and the last falling leaves before they make their final descent, saying farewell to the time they have spent with you.

It gives you the hoot of an owl, resting placidly on a branch to let you know you are not alone. You are never alone.

The night encompasses you in its dark cloak, hugging you with a power far greater than you can imagine.

It gives you a chance to listen to your breath and the sound of children laughing in their sleep.

When sleep alludes you, remember that the rhythm that keeps you awake has a story to tell.

3 Responses to “The Power of the Night”

Beautiful post! I agree – it seems like we have become obsessed with time and with the productivity of time. I have recently had panicked dreams in which I am late, or in which I don’t have enough time to do something. I love sleeping but don’t find it easy to go into deep sleep these days, as thoughts of all the things on my ‘to do’ list keep running through my mind even as I am going to bed. Time to look at night time in a new way!

Im suffering from “insomnia” at the moment, and during the day I feel as though I rarely get time for myself. After reading this I will now take advantage of this precious time and maybe in the morning I will be even more well rested!

The silence of the night is our source of discovering ourself truly without any make-up. It shows us naked wandering what to wear, morally and spiritually, to reach our destiny with faithm hope and love.